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Vladimir Putin's annual call-in marathon

Putin: Nazism, Stalinism can’t be equalized

Extermination of entire ethnoses was one of the aims of Nazis' policy, but the Stalin regime never set the goal of exterminating entire peoples, the Russian leader says

Russian President Vladimir Putin Alexei Druzhinin/Russian presidential press service/TASS

Russian President Vladimir Putin

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian presidential press service/TASS

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Impossible to reshape history to suit political situation — Putin

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Nazism and Stalinism can’t be equalized, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday during an annual question and answer session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin."

"It’s impossible to equalize Nazism and Stalinism," Putin said. "Because Nazis directly, openly and publicly declared extermination of entire ethnoses — Jews, Gypsies and Slavs — one of the aims of their policy."

He added that "even taking into account the ugliness of the Stalinist regime, all repressions, exiles of entire nations, the regime never set the goal of exterminating entire peoples."

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"The attempt to equalize these and those is absolutely ungrounded," Putin said.

At the same time, he admitted that predecessors gave a reason for such a comparison.

"After the Second World War, we tried to impose on East European countries our model of development and did it by force," Putin said. He said it was not good and is "keeps backfiring on us today."

"By the way, Americans are behaving in the same manner, trying to impose their model practically worldwide," he said. "They are in for a failure too."

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NATO spies study damage from Oreshnik at Yuzhmash — expert

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Magdeburg attacker may be charged with murder of 5, attempted murder of 205 — prosecutor

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Press review: South Korean president impeached as Ukraine turns to foreign mercenaries

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Brazil unveils BRICS logo for 2025

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Baltic states threaten mass deportation of Russians, take lead in Russophobia — statement

The Foreign Ministry noted that the facts of discrimination and persecution of Russians are often ignored by the official leadership of countries and international human rights agencies, leading many victims to remain silent

Russian troops liberate 10 communities in Donbass region over week — top brass

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted more than 3,610 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed six enemy ammunition depots in its area of responsibility over the week

Turkish president calls on West to stop Israel in Syria before it’s too late

"All international mechanisms need to be effectively employed in order to prevent Israel from exploiting the situation in Syria," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said

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"Let them choose a target, say, in Kiev, and amass their air and missile defense systems there, while we will launch an Oreshnik missile at the target," the Russian leader said

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Andrey Marochko noted that Russian forces had "slightly advanced" in the northern and southern parts of Chasov Yar

Russia’s first two helicopter carriers to be laid down in Crimea in spring 2020 — sources

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Proposal to duel with West response to claims of Oreshnik missile vulnerability — Kremlin

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Embassies of 12 countries closed in North Korea amid shortage of goods

All foreign personnel of international humanitarian organizations have also left, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said

Ukraine loses over 300 troops, two Bradley vehicles in Kursk Region in past day

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US Navy cruiser mistakenly downs F/A-18 fighter over Red Sea

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Scholz, German Interior Minister booed during visit to terrorist attack site — newspaper

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Mourhaf Abu Qasra becomes top Syrian defense official in transitional government — TV

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Kremlin spokesman clarifies Putin’s statement about Oreshnik 'duel'

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Aleppo taken by 350 militants while 30,000 gov’t troops retreated without fight — Putin

The Russian president recalled that no Russian land troops had been deployed to Syria, with Russia having only an airbase and a naval base

Eight people killed in Israeli strike on school in Gaza Strip

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Ukrainian troops struggling to escape being trapped in Lozovaya in Kharkov region — expert

In general, "quite active hostilities" are taking place near Dvurechnaya and Lozovaya in the Kupyansk sector of the line of engagement, Andrey Marochko noted

Civilian manufacturers ramp up drone production to 40,000 units per month

The Russian Defense Ministry has also purchased more than 100,000 units from small design bureaus and civilian manufacturers, the statement said

Putin sends greetings on Russia’s Energy Industry Worker’s Day

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Mother of missing US reporter thanks Putin for promising help in locating her son

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Musk believes Germany’s Scholz should step down after car drives into crowd in Magdeburg

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Possible arrival of new Russian envoy before Trump’s inauguration depends on US — diplomat

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Russia to raise issue of Ukrainian strikes on Rylsk at UNSC meeting on Friday — diplomat

Acting Kursk Region Governor Alexander Khinshtein said earlier that the town of Rylsk, located some 120 kilometers west of Kursk, had come under Ukrainian fire

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TASS has gathered the main information about the incident

Russia manages situation in Ukraine, while West in big trouble — US political scientist

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Kiev takes out its anger for military defeats on Russian people — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also emphasized that Moscow is outraged by the hypocritical silence of the West and its media on the terrorist attacks in Russia

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